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Isabella Borshoff

Staff Writer

isabella@thewire.media

Isabella Borshoff was a staff writer for The Wire China. Previously, she worked as a climate policy adviser in Australia’s federal public service. She earned her Master’s in Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School. Her writing has been published in POLITICO Europe.

Articles

The Fear Factor

The Fear Factor

The Chinese Communist Party and China’s private sector have always had a hot-and-cold relationship. But after intense crackdowns on private business in recent years, Beijing is now hoping to woo back its "capitalist class" quickly to help it stave off economic and geopolitical headwinds. That...
Mixed Messages

Mixed Messages

Among Western countries, Germany has long had a unique relationship with China, both economically and politically. But with cracks emerging in the historically powerful pro-engagement alliance between German politicians and business leaders — and the tension increasingly spilling into the public arena — some say...
The Steel Trap

The Steel Trap

No other sector has quite embodied China’s rise from a poverty-stricken agrarian state to a modern industrial powerhouse more than the steel industry. It has quite literally undergirded decades of China’s growth. But China's economic model now needs to shift its reliance away from property...
Seed Savior?

Seed Savior?

Agribusiness giant Syngenta is unique on the world stage: it is a state-owned Chinese firm with an American CEO. After ChemChina's historic purchase of the company in 2017 — the largest ever purchase by a Chinese company overseas — Syngenta is now ready for its...
China’s Bot Boom

China’s Bot Boom

China became “the world’s factory” in large part due to its demographics: a tidal wave of young, hungry workers drove growth by churning out low value goods. But between rapidly changing demographics and rising wages, those days are over. For China to maintain its reputation...